DFA: No 72-hour notice yet on Veloso execution

Protesters display placards during a rally at the Indonesian Embassy in the financial district of Makati city, east of Manila, Philippines, to appeal to Indonesian government to spare the life of convicted Filipino drug trafficker Mary Jane Veloso Friday, April 24, 2015. AP

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has confirmed the Philippine Embassy in Indonesia has not received a notice of the date of the execution of Mary Jane Veloso.

In a statement on Saturday, foreign affairs spokesperson Charles Jose said he had spoken to Maria Lumen Isleta, the Philippine ambassador to Indonesia, who said that the embassy had yet to receive a 72-hour notice of execution.

“I just spoke to our ambassador to Indonesia and she confirmed that the embassy had not received the 72-hour notice,” said Jose.

Under Indonesian laws, death convicts are given 72 hours’ notice before the execution is carried out.

Veloso is set to face the death penalty on the island of Nusakambangan off Central Java in Indonesia over charges of drug trafficking.

The lawyers of Veloso have filed an appeal for a second review of her case in an attempt to save her from execution.

Earlier, Veloso’s sister Marites Laurente said on a radio interview that Veloso phoned her saying the attorney general’s office of Indonesia had sent the notice of execution date.

Veloso said she received the letter on Saturday afternoon saying the date of her execution would be on April 28, Tuesday.

“We are asking for help from all of you. We need you now more than ever. Please pray for my sister,” Laurente said.

Past midnight on Friday, the family of Veloso also received the order of execution from the attorney general’s office.

The letter dated April 23 instructed prosecutors to prepare for the execution of 10 convicts in Indonesia, including Veloso.

“The order of execution was acknowledged by the family but family members didn’t agree with what was stated in the order,” said lawyer Edre Olalia, secretary general of the National Union of People’s Lawyers and one of the private counsels of Veloso who joined the visit to the island.

He also clarified that there was no fixed date for the execution yet as Indonesian protocols required a 72 hours’ notice.

Jose confirmed the letter on the order of execution but there was no date indicated when it would be carried out.

“The attorney general’s office will announce it,” Jose said, noting that the 72-hour count had yet to begin with that letter. With a report from Nestor Corrales, Inquirer.net/RC